STAR Managing Editor
By Frank Ramos
VJ o
Hernandez Colon is one PDP leader, however, who be-lieves
that commonwealth status must be defined if it is ;­to
be preserved. He sees Puerto Rico heading towards g.
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commonwealth status or autonomy, But to compete effec- :0
tively with statehood and independence, Hernandez Colon
believes commonwealth supporters must" develop a-new
definition af commonwealth status that will give shape tp
what is now an amorphous mass. Or as he puts it,. it's
time to develop a new "thesis" for commonwealth
status.
Seen in this context, Hernandez Colon's actions seem
less puzzling or baffling. He withdraws from the piuty
presidency because he ,feels it's more important for him
to dedicate his full-time to developing a "thesis" or
philosophy for commonweal'th status than to be directly
involved in the day-to-day battle to keep the party afloat
and regain power in 1980, Besides, on a.personal level, I
think he probably prefers this type of scholarly, cerebral
activity to having to deal with intra-party disputes or
organizational problems. It's more suited to his intros­pective
nature. .
Again, Hernandez Colon's foray in the United Nations
makes sense when viewed against this background.
Commonwealth status was under attack as a colonial
status and had to be defended, even if it involved the
politically risky business of dealing directly with the Cu­bans
and Mari Bras. One might argue that he was
wrong from a practical point of view and perhaps that's
true. But Hernandez Colon is a firm believer in com­monwealth
status and his actions must be seen in this
light.
To accomplish his goal of defining commonwealth
status, Hernandez Colon has created his own "brain
trust": a group of about 20 professionals and university
professors, some of them former cabinet members in his
administration. This group will advise Hernandez Colon
on different aspects of commonwealth status' future
development. What they hope' will emerge is a new
philosophy for cQmmonwealth status that will rekindle
the faith of commonwealth adherents and keep the
concept alive as a "permanent" solution to the island's
status dilemma.
Rafael Hernandez Colon has always bien something of
an enigma in Puerto Rican politics. The former governor
has at times befuddled both friends and foes alike
through some of his actions.· Several months ago he
traumatized the Popular Democratic Party eiectorate by
declining re-election to another term as party president
on the eve of the party's convention. More recently, he
surprised everyone by working closely with the Cuban
, delegation and Puerto Rican socialists in drafting a Un­ited
Nations resolution on Puerto Rico.
To a large extent these actions reflect the nature of
the man. He is inward-looking rather than outward­looking,
an introve~t who seems slightly out of place in
the political arena. Hernandez Colon always seemed ill
at ease while mixing with crowds during the past politi­cal
campaigns, in contrast with Gov. Romero who
seemed very much in his element. Because he prefers
working and acting aJone, he has earned a reputation
for being secretive and aloof.
Thus, it was no surprise when leaders of his own polit­ical
party were caught off guard by his announcement
that he would not seek another term as party president.
Nor was it surprising to learn that Hernandez Colon did
not inform other party leaders of his negotiations with
the Cubans and PSP President Juan Mari Bras until the
very end.
But Hernandez Colon also sees himself as a man with
a mission. And it was this mission that dictated to a
large extent his decisions not to seek another term as
party president and to play a direct role in the United
NatiOnS' debate on Puerto Rico's status. ·This mission, as
Hernandez Colon sees it, is the salvation of common­wealth
status, or more correctly, the salvation of the
concept of Puerto Rican autonomy.
The reality, of course, is that commonwealth status is
unper attack, both from the statehooders on the right
and the independentistas on the left. Both the statehobd­ers
and independentistas argue that commonwealth is a
status whose time has come and that Puerto Rico is
headed towards an eventual showdown-between statehood
and independence.
The amorphous nature of commonwealth status, is both
its strength 'and its- weakness. The commonwealth con­cept
has been broad -enough to encompass persans of
widely varying views. On the one extreme you have
those who see it as an approximation of statehood but
minus the economic burden of federal taxation. At the
other extreme are those who see commonwealth status
'as a virtual republic but with close ties to the U.S.
But because it· is so shapeless and ill-defined, the
commonwealth ideal has been difficult to explain and
even more difficult to understand. It has become the
safe but uninspiring center, the refuge of those who fear
any kind of change at all. Because attempts to define
commonwealth status invariably invite divisions, there
has been a tendency within the PDP to downplay status
and instead talk about solving the island's social and
economic problems.
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